Girls state track: Santa Fe Preparatory’s Lopez wins titles in high jump, triple jump

Pancho Morris | The New Mexican

5/9/2008 - 5/10/08

ALBUQUERQUE — Traci Lopez learned to triple jump inside Elsie's, which serves the best hamburgers in Carrizozo.

Really.

"I can't believe I just did that," Lopez said Friday morning, after winning the state title in the triple jump at the Class AA Girls State High School Track and Field Championships at Great Friends of UNM Track.

The victory came on the sixth jump of the competition, the ninth jump of her career.

That's right. Nine jumps.

Lopez, a Santa Fe Preparatory senior, already owns two state titles in the 800 meters, one state title at 400 meters and one state title in the high jump.

Uh, correction.

Make those two state titles in the high jump for Lopez, who successfully defended her crown Friday night.

More on her high jump later.

And, her debut in the 300 hurdles.

And, the Monte del Sol girls.

And, Shawna Winnegar's school-record run in the 1,600.

Back to the triple jump.

Back to the final jump of the competition.

Lopez stood second to Yeshemabet Turner of Pecos, who entered state as the favorite after popping 35 feet, 3 inches during the regular season.

Turner, a freshman, proved that was no fluke, landing 35-0. Lopez, the sixth seed coming into state, had a best of 34-8 1/2 during the first three rounds, which made her the last competitor for the three-jump final, which took the top eight marks.

Lopez was still second heading into her final jump.

One hop, one skip, one jump later, she landed 35-11 from where she took off.

"That's so crazy," she said of going 35-11 and winning the event on the final jump. "I thought it was 35, maybe 35-and-a quarter.

"I just needed to go for it, because it was going to be my very last jump ever."

Maybe.

Depending upon what happens next week at the state track and field meet for the three largest classifications, Lopez could receive an invitational to the Great Southwest Track and Field Championships.

The 35-11 exceeded the state-meet record of 34-5, which was set in 2002 by Scotti Russell of Albuquerque Sandia Prep. But the jump was wind-aided.

No matter.

The 34-8 1/2 was not.

It gives Lopez the state-meet record and the school record, which was held by Kimber Lopez, her older sister, who went 32-7 1/4 in 2006.

"I think she'll be happy," the younger Lopez said.

About losing one record, perhaps.

But two? In the same day?

It happened when Lopez ran 47.06 seconds to win her heat and post the fastest time in the 300 hurdles. Kimber's best, also in 2006, was 48.56.

Lopez said she would chase the state-meet record of 46.26 in today's final. That mark went into the books in 1997, courtesy of Monica Christofferson of Cimarron.

Christofferson's coach, Leroy Chavez, was trackside when Lopez finished her 300s.

"She's definitely got a shot," Chavez said, "whether the wind is blowing or not."

Lopez is hurdling for the first time. And, no, she didn't learn the hurdles in Elsie's.

"It was in between hamburgers and French fries," Tove Shere, Santa Fe Prep head coach, said of the on-the-spot, in-the-restaurant triple jump session. "It was a hop, a step, a jump."

The team had stopped in Carrizozo on its way to a meet in Tularosa.

Lopez jumped 28-0, 30-0 and qualified for state with a 32-4, her final jump in Tularosa. She didn't jump again until Friday.

"She has a remarkable body of awareness," Shere said. "She can take every bit of information you give her and apply it immediately."

That is not what the rest of the state long jumpers want to hear. Lopez has only competed in the long jump once and that was last week at district in Pecos. She qualified with a 16-3 and is seeded fourth.

At the top of that list is Sarah Meade of Monte del Sol, who also had an auspicious Friday, though no medals were attached.

Meade, a junior, qualified first in the 100 (13.25), second in the 200 (27.18) and finished what Jamaica Gonzales, Danielle Varela, Kiara Glover started, anchoring the 400 and 800 relays to the fastest times in the preliminaries.

The 800 relay also supplied comic relief. In the final 100 meters, a wrap, which started around Meade's right calf, was holding on for dear life at her ankle.

"I was trying not to trip on it," Meade said. "I felt it trailing behind me. I think I dragged it the final 20 meters."

It was the closest anything — and anyone — came to Meade after Glover's impressive third leg.

The freshman got the baton in fifth, but rounding her one curve, she had the lead down the back straightaway.

"I'm a really good curve runner," Glover said. "At first, I took it easy. But I knew I would be able to pass them."

She didn't just pass them. She put 50 meters of distance between herself and the field.

"It's more of a rush to pass people," Glover said.

There was no one to pass in the 400, so Glover lowered her school-record after a 1:00.61 in her preliminary. The time makes her the top seed for today's final.

"We don't have many, but they are all quality," Nicolas Trouvat, Monte del Sol head coach, said of his five-athlete state roster. "It's our first time in the finals for both relays. "It's been a great meet for us."

Winnegar had no complaints, even after finishing third in the 1,600. Particularly, after learning her time, which was 5:32.03.

"The school record has been my goal since the 10th grade," Winnegar, a Santa Fe Prep senior, said. "And my goal coming in was top three."

Almea Matanock held the Santa Fe Prep record since 1996, when she ran 5:33.22. The state-meet record was even older.

That's right. Was.

Courtney Schultz of Cloudcroft set the state-meet record in 5:10.13, which bettered the mark of 5:13.80, set in 1993 by Melissa Lucero of Laguna-Acoma.

Courtney wasn't the only Schultz to break the mark. Twin sister Camille, the runner-up, ran 5:10.83.

"I knew after the first 100," Winnegar answered, when asked when the race was lost. "They're really good. They just take it out so fast, it's hard to keep up.

"My goal was top three. I got it."

Winnegar will face the twins in today's 800, while Turner will see Lopez in the long jump.

"I'm not satisfied, but I'm happy that I at least placed," Turner said of her runner-up finish in the triple jump. "I at least wanted to jump what I've been jumping."

Lopez wasn't the only one to get the best of her.

"She was really nervous," Sal Gonzales, Pecos head coach, said of Turner. "She had a bad case of the butterflies. I tried to explain to her that everyone was afraid of her.

"Traci's been here. She's a gamer. She rose up when she needed to."

In the triple jump.

In the high jump.

Lopez cleared 4-10 on her first attempt, 5-0 on her second attempt and 5-2 on her second attempt. After that jump, she was congratulated for her victory, based on fewest misses.

Lopez wanted 5-4. She almost got it, but clipped the bar with her right calf. The gold medal was a nice consolation prize.

"I'm so happy," Lopez said, thinking back to Friday. Her next thought was about today.

"I could potentially have five gold medals," she said, including the 1,600 relay, which she anchors. "That would be unbelievable."

When you learn to triple jump inside a restaurant, anything — and everything — seems possible for Lopez.